Swiss vote on limiting top pay to 12 times that of lowest paid workers

The Swiss are to go to the polls to vote on limiting the pay of high-earners as a debate rages in the country about income, inequality and what fair pay really means.

Under the radical proposal, businesses would not be allowed to pay any member of staff more than 12 times the wage that they pay their lowest earners.

In practice, this means that in a company where the lowest-paid employee earns 4,000 CHF (Swiss francs) per month (€3,200), the highest-paid members of staff would be able to earn a maximum of 48,000 CHF (€38,000 per month).

The so-called 1:12 Initiative for Fair Pay, which will take place on 24 November, has had significant support from the electorate in opinion polls. The vote was proposed as part of a backlash over the perceived excesses of top executives during and in the wake of the financial crisis.

This site may contain copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorised by the owner of the copyrighted work. We are making such material available in order to advance understanding of a range of issues, including but not limited to the environment, politics, human rights, economics, scientific research and social justice. As such, we believe this usage constitutes 'fair use' provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for research and educational purposes.